Meridian Brothers / Colombia

 

Meridian Brothers were formed in Bogota in 1998. The Colombian ensemble is led by the composer and multi instrumentalist Eblis Álvarez.

The artist brings skill and a dose of humour to combining dance rhythms of cumbia and salsa with bouncy, psychedelic sounds and experimentation in costumes and composition technique. He describes his eccentric music as “cumbiaatonal” and “noiseprotesta”, and names Kraftwerk, Einstürzende Neubauten and Björk among his inspirations. Reviewers also add Frank Zappa, The Residents and Arto Lindsay to the list of influences. The group has recorded several acclaimed albums.

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Their latest release “Salvadora Robot”, issued last year, is an explosion of spontaneous, dynamic music. The group comes to Poland for the first time, and their concert may well be the big event of the festival. The musicians use traditional instruments alongside electric and electronic ones. It is this distinctive sound and diversity of inspiration that make Meridian Brothers’ music so unique and difficult to classify. The fascinating blend of Latino rhythms and psychedelic influences makes Eblis Álvarez one of the key figures on the experimental music scene in Bogota and throughout South America.

Members:
María Valencia - clarinet, saxophone, synths
Eblis Álvarez - vocals, guitar, electronics
Damián Ponce - percussion instruments
César Quevedo - bass guitar
Alejandro Forero - keyboards

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The concert took place in 2015.